HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Fallen – Evanescence
To be writing the words ‘twenty years of Fallen‘ is a concept we don’t think anyone would of fathomed back then. 2003 was a time when nu-metal was at it’s peak with the rock and metal charts being dominated with bands like KORN, LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK. People were eager for duel rapping and singing with male dominated vocals. Female vocalists were rare at this time and they were more common singing at the head of a pop group, rather than fronting a band with guitars and amplified riffs. There was a gap in the market and EVANESCENCE saw this.
With a different brand of rock and metal and a female lead vocalist, it was hard to to find a label that believed in them. Many passing on them because it didn’t fit the contemporary sound of the time. Thankfully Wind Up Records took a chance on them and with the compromise of one male vocal feature on the lead single Bring Me To Life and as they say the rest is history.
The opening piano intro in Bring Me To Life is iconic, leading us in to Amy Lee‘s beautiful vocals, drawing us in for when the classic EVANESCENCE riff is heard. Even the feature from Paul McCoy feels at home on this track and feeling familiar to a wide audience, creating an easy chant of “Wake Me Up” for fans to scream back in a live setting. With the lead single catapulting to top of the charts in many countries it was a question of would this be it or can EVANESCENCE follow up to a major single?
Doubts were very quickly put to bed with Going Under, the chunky guitar riff and Lee‘s iconic vocals opening up the track, showing off more of their sound. However the lack of male vocals is noticeable. This absence definitely turned some people away but on the other hand, it also drew more people in to the sound of the band. With two heavy single’s opening up the gates to fans, My Immortal was a well received change of pace. A slow piano and vocal track which really showcased Lee‘s ethereal vocals.
The song has meant different things for different people over the years and after Bring Me To Life is the band’s most well known track. The album version is slightly different from the single however, with the noticeable absence of the full band on the last part of the song but this absence just amplifies the beauty and for many people, they prefer this version.
The final single to be released was Everybody’s Fool, bringing us back to the heavy riffs we have come to love in years to come. The message was a clear commentary of how the fakeness around pop stars and how the shallow imagery is not a good message for a young audience; Giving them an unrealistic perspective on beauty. The message of the track was perfect for a growing audience who didn’t want to be part of what society thought beauty should be, and although this might have been the least performing single for the general public, it reached an important audience and an ever growing fanbase.
With the first four tracks of the album released to the general public, this really gave them a taste of what Fallen would be like: no love letters to boys but gritty songs with messages of false idols, grief and obsession. This perfectly leads in to showcasing what the full album has to offer with a very definitive sound and feel over its runtime. With tracks like Haunted, Imaginary and album closer Whisper showcasing the perfect mix of heavy gritty guitars, orchestral backing and Amy Lee‘s angelic vocals cumulating in a wonderful sound that broke through the wall of nu-metal and firmly planted EVANESCENCE as a house hold name. Even with subdued track Hello, a slower but beautiful song about Amy‘s own grief, fits perfectly in the context of the album, allowing for a little lull and rest from the intensity.
The legacy of Fallen stands tall to this day. At the time, the record provided young people, and especially young girls, with a female role model who wasn’t a stereotypical figure in the mainstream media at the time. Showing us that we don’t need to be what mainstream society dictates, we can be standing tall on that stage commanding the crowd as good as any rock juggernaut such as FOO FIGHTERS, SLIPKNOT or METALLICA.
The young girls who felt like the misfits and outsiders, they finally had someone to look up to. Someone who wrote about serious life events and could provide a voice and comfort in a world which was turning against them. Even if the full themes of the tracks were uniquely received for each and every individual, they still felt like they had a voice and a way to express themselves to the world. Songs that resonated with their anger and pain at being the outcast and bullied by their peers. As time goes on, Fallen still provides that voice of familiarity and comfort when times get hard.
Fallen was and is still a pinnacle album in the early 2000s but it also provided a gateway to other female-lead metal, from similar bands like WITHIN TEMPTATION and NIGHTWISH, to more extreme bands like ARCH ENEMY. Fallen opened the flood gates in showing women that they can be as good as the boys. Not just one of the best albums of the 2000s, Fallen started a legacy of empowerment for women in music today and it is still going strong decades later.
Fallen (2oth Anniversary Edition) is out now via Craft Recordings.
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